Apprentices' Drabble Ienzo
by Moepher
Summary: "This is a heart-wrenching tale that will tug at your heartstrings and make you pity  Ienzo  and the life he's being forced to live." - *Magic-fan **Oneshot**


Ienzo huffed, crouching behind the wall of the castle, his face beaming. Peering around the corner, he watched fondly as Even looked wildly about in panic, trying to find his lost, son. Giggling to the foolish expressions upon the elder man's face, the boy slunk off into the gardens, his body stooped over almost in a crawl to be avoid being seen. Tucked under his arm was a book almost as large as himself, as Braig had said when he passed him. It was his new obsession of the week, and he estimated that by the end of the day, he'd be half-way through it if not finished.

Ducking under a flowery arch, Ienzo brightened to the sight of a mahogany bench, it's surface gleaming with the rays of the bright sun. Setting his book down on top of it, he climbed up and pushed his little body onto the bench before hefting the book onto his lap. As he flipped the pages, trying to recall the chapter he left off on, the rays of the sun heated his back and birds chirped overhead, pleased with the abundant trees of Radiant Gardens. A butterfly flitted past his nose, making the young child sneeze.

Soon, his eyes became sucked into his book, reading word after word, sentence after sentence and paragraph after paragraph. Even wouldn't have let him do this, for there was formula's still yet to learn and lessons yet to be taught. But just like any other child, Ienzo couldn't stand listening to his father's boring drawl and ran off occasionally to escape it. Though, he knew time would run short eventually and the others would pitch in to help find the lost child. It would be then that Ienzo couldn't run from Aeleus's tight grip or Dilan's sharp tongue. Ansem would scold him, but his words would be hollow and the promise of ice cream would be laced under his breath.

Slackening the grip of his lab coat, he let the heavy article slip off his back. Under it he wore a light blue T-shirt, matching his slate-blue hair. Wisps of it covered his right eye, obscuring it completely. Breathing in a deep, fresh breath of air, he perked his head up, listening dutifully for the sound of the others. He frowned with puzzlement, hearing nothing but what sounded like the rustling of a bush, caused likely by a rabbit or squirrel. Not ready to take any chances of being drug back to the lab to be schooled, Ienzo hopped off the bench with his coat in one hand and clamped his book shut in the other, pacing through the maze of hedges. Twigs snapped around him, making him freeze and glare at the objects around him with a scrutinizing gaze. The sound would stop once he did, making him suspicious. Narrowing his eyes, he spun around on his heels and trotted off farther towards the gate. He would have a better probability of escaping the clutches of his superiors if he went into town.

The sounds of snapping branches followed him the whole way through, making unease boil down in Ienzo's gut. Trusting his intuition, he spun around and stood there, silently staring off into the maze's depths. He heard the sound a bit later, and sighed, his hypothesis going out to only one conclusion. He could have called out to them, but that might alert any guards on the look out for a certain blue-haired boy. Rolling his sky eyes, the child paced to a berry bush and peeled away a branch, his brow quirking pointedly at the face behind it.

"... Er, hi," Lea said nervously, green eyes shifting of the local boys and trouble-makers. He was much older than Ienzo, but none too bright. His hair was a bright shock of scarlet and stood out like that of a flame. Wherever there was Lea, there was always-

"Isa!" the boy hissed, whipping his head behind him, "Stop _pushing_! The munchkin found us!"The bush rustled and another face popped out a ways off behind. "What? Oh. Well, this is a problem." He had bright blue hair and emerald eyes as well, face cool and concise, despite being discovered. Ienzo blinked at both, his mouth pursed into a deep scowl. It wasn't the first time these two had disrupted his evening.

"Yeah, yeah, we know what you're thinking," Lea grumbled. "What are we doing here, right? Well, we heard from the flower-shop lady that Ansem has some real neat inventions, so Isa and I wanted to go and get rich off of them!"

Ienzo's expression didn't change, and he glanced at Isa to see him bobbing his head in agreement. Rolling his eyes, the boy lifted his hand with the coat in it and pointed at the direction of the exit gate. The two boys blanched, Lea automatically protesting, "What! No, we can't leave when we've gotten this far! C'mon, at least tell us if he has super cool inventions, Ienzo!"

Sighing softly, the child nodded slowly. Lea's face lit up like the sun. "Really! What kind?"

For the first time, Ienzo opened his mouth and said in his delicate voice, "It's classified."

"Classified? You mean we can't see?" Lea said, completely destroyed.

"That's generally what classified means..."

Isa glared at the smart-alack comment and grumbled, "Well, I suppose you won't take us, will you?"

Ienzo's glare became steely, voice cold. "Go home or I'll call the guards to throw you out."

Lea's face became smug and he struggled his way out of the bush, towering over the young apprentice. "Yeah? Well, we saw you run off, so it seems that if you get caught, you'll be in trouble too, ya half-pint."

Isa now stood beside him, a smirk framing his face. "That's right."The youngest couldn't help but smile amusedly. "I'll tell them you took me away to help you cheat on your school exams. Who do you think they'll believe? The reliable student or you two?"

Lea flicked Ienzo's forehead, making him squeak in discomfort. "Not so reliable when you're sneaking out, eh? But you do have a point. Fine. We'll leave. But, this isn't the last time you'll see us here. Just you wait, munchkin. One day, we'll be rich from those inventions!"

They stalked off towards the gate, scaling the brick wall next to it instead of just passing through. Snorting at the immatures, Ienzo looked down at his book. They had ruined his concentration and now he didn't feel like continuing his leisurely reading. Sighing, he glanced back at the gate, glimpsing people outside in the square. Sometimes being a genius was just so much work. He wished he could be like them, sometimes. Not have to worry about the structure of DNA and all the nucleotides that held it together, neither have to study the different hydrogen bonds that held molecules like basic glucose and sucrose together. Ienzo doubted that dynamic duo even knew what glucose and sucrose was.

Turning back, he walked in plain sight up the path leading to the large doors of Ansem's castle. Aeleus and Dilan stood guard at the front. Upon noticing the small figure approaching, they trotted up to him, expressions concerned."Ienzo, where have you been? You've made Even worried sick!" Dilan snapped.

Aeleus crossed in and said in his gentle tone, "Don't scold him, he's just a kid. How does he know any better?" He reached out his hand and wrapped it around Ienzo's much smaller one, starting to guide him back to the castle. Dilan followed on the other side of him, lance in his tight grip.

Out of the two, he definitely preferred Aeleus. Mostly stoic and a gentle giant, he never lashed out at him, no matter what kind of trouble Ienzo had gotten himself into, unlike Dilan who complained about anything and everything when he could. Sometimes Aeleus would almost kind of help him escape from his lessons. While on duty to retrieve him, sometimes he'd stare straight at him and grin, walking off in the opposite direction. Other times he'd go up to him and throw him onto his shoulders, teaching Ienzo about different kinds of rocks and layers of soil on the way back to the castle when orders became more serious.

They gave him back over to Even's care when they found him, where the thin man bent down to eye-level and sighed, "Where did you run off to this time?"

He kept his expression subtle and serious. After what seemed like forever, he fought up his voice and muttered, "The garden."

"Why?"

"To read." At this he hefted his book up to present to his father.

Even took it and inspected it's cover, turning it over and reading the back."_Study of the Mind: a Humane Perspective_," the man said sourly, handing the book back to the child. "Why do you waste your time on theories when you can study the scientific truth?"

Ienzo shrugged. "It's interesting."

"Next thing you know he'll be a therapist!" A voice chimed in. Dilan's face suddenly turned venomous and Aeleus trailed his stern, icy eyes down at the end of the hall where Braig began walking towards them, his arms crossed. "Then he can solve all of Dilan's anger management problems!"

The bulky guard nearly reached out to grab him. "Why you-!"

Braig stepped back. "See? Needs a session, or two, or five." A sardonic light lit up into his only remaining amber eye. Looking down at the young child he asked, "Isn't that right, 'Zo?"

Ienzo couldn't help but let out a small giggle. Dilan shot him a sharp glare before grumbling and stamping his foot into the ground.

"We should get back to our posts," Aeleus suggested as the tension became thick, staring back to the door. "Got to make sure Lea and Isa haven't snuck in again."

"If the most of our worries are those two, then I think we'll be okay," Braig said, tucking his arms behind his head. "Silly, little tyrants can't get anywhere near the actual castle. Every time they try we catch them before they're ten feet past the gate."

The little boy didn't have the notion to tell them that they had cut it pretty close moments ago. Braig was right. There was no trouble at all if the two children were the prime issue of Radiant Gardens. In any case, they added a bit of excitement to Ienzo's day. He wasn't quite ready to get rid of that yet. It might come in handy some time.

The thought made a small grin light up his face. Even didn't say anything more, just spun around and stalked off towards the lab, expecting the boy to follow. Braig still stood near him, his scarred face never intimidating little Ienzo. Braig was a friend. He understood what it meant to fool around and just escape it all. He did it all the time anyhow. Had Ienzo told Even that, he would deem the veteran a bad influence and forbid him from interacting with him as much as his power would allow. When he had a problem or needed a good hiding place, Braig was always there to go to and always had an ear open for whatever few words Ienzo might say to him.

And he wanted to say something to him now. Ienzo blinked at the broad-shouldered guard and tilted his head slightly. Braig knew the look well and a knowing glint appeared in his gaze. He grinned at him, nodding towards Even. "Better go, 'Zo. Your dad's waitin'." Braig winked and Ienzo smiled back at him warmly, bobbing his head in a promise to meet him at the usual place. He turned around and dashed for the elder scientist, grabbing hold of his outstretched hand.

The man glanced down at him with a tired sigh. Ienzo felt bad for constantly making him worry, but at the same time, it saved him from certain doom. Lea and Isa would understand that any day. School was a was a pain.

After a few minutes of complete, utter silence as they traversed down the hall until the man suddenly began in a teacherly tone, "What are the different bonds of DNA?"

"Adenine with Thymine and Cytosine with Guanine," Ienzo answered nearly instantly.

"And RNA?"

"The same, but Adenine pairs with Uracil and the sides are made of Ribose instead of Deoxyribose."

He seemed pleased, but did not stop. "What molecule does both DNA and RNA share?"

"Phosphate."

"What are the three main types of RNA?"

"rRNA, tRNA, and mRNA."

"And how old are you?"

Ienzo looked up, face furrowed. "What does that have to do with DNA structure?"

The man beamed. "Just trying to see if you're paying attention. Now, answer the question, boy."

"... I'm seven," he said slowly. "My birthday is in three months; then I'll be eight."

Even nodded in approval. "Glad to see you know your own birthday. Speaking of which, what do you want?"

"Hm?"

"What do you want, boy? For your birthday?" Even repeated child's eyes became wide as he walked along.

What did he want? Now that he thought about it, he thought of a lot of things, but all of it was stuff he had always gotten in the past, such as ice-cream, which he got every day before he went to bed: courtesy of Ansem. So what could he have that he didn't already get on a daily basis?

His eyes trailed down to the book under his arm. Brightening, he lifted it up and rose it toward Even. "It's a series. I want the rest of them. Ansem only has volumes one, four and five out of the six there are. I would like the complete set."

He saw Even make a face at the mention of that book again. He didn't object, though, and questioned, "Yes, anything else?"

Ienzo looked back at his book with a frown. He mumbled something, but it didn't register into words.

"Speak up, Ienzo. I can't hear you when you're talking into your chest," Even ridiculed.

"I said I wanted-" he seemed to catch himself. Looking down at the floor Ienzo said softly, "Nothing. Forget it."

He could feel the scientist's curious stare as they plodded along, but the tall man did not inquire further of his musings. When they reached the lab, Even guided him to his stool and helped him onto it until he was facing the many vials of chemicals that had been assorted upon the counter space. Ienzo made a face as their strange aroma's mixed into something horrid."I hate chemistry," he hissed. "Can't we do cells instead?"

Even rolled his emerald eyes. "Always something so complex... You know cells from the inside out, Ienzo. We're moving on to chemistry, unless you'd rather memorize the periodic table?"

"No," the boy said sternly, quickly.

"Then chemistry it is." Even walked to the white-board and picked up a red marker, beginning to scribble down formula's upon it. Ienzo mapped his markings with the up-most boredom, his book settled snugly upon his lap. As Even's attention was soon thrown into the lecture he had planned out before he had disappeared, Ienzo gently flipped the book open and continued to read from where he had left off. A sheet of paper in front of him made the appearance of him looking at that instead. For almost the entire lesson, Even didn't notice the distraction. It was only until he came to look at the paper in front of his student that realization took him.

"You haven't taken note of a thing I've said, Ienzo!" he scolded, leaning over the counter to peer at the paper boy looked up stiffly.

"Huh?" When seeing the blank paper he stammered, "W-well you never said I had to take notes, Dad. I just decided to memorize the charts with my eyes." He blinked innocently, Even's own gaze becoming narrower. He rarely ever said 'dad' to Even. Ienzo felt his heart flutter with nervousness as the red flag flew up into the scientist's face.

With a long reach across, he took Ienzo's chin into his grasp. The freezeing, cold temperature of his fingers made the child flinch and cringe, but that iron grip forced him to stare straight into the scientist's stern, slender face. "Tell me then," the man started slowly, "If you have the charts down to a tee, then what is the scientific formula for photosynthesis, Ienzo?"His father's face became smug as the boy fumbled for words while at the same time, his eyes flew around the room for answers, muttering flustered.

A glimpse of the board behind Even made Ienzo say as he saw it, "Six CO2 plus six H2O with sunlight equals... equals..." he tried to peer over Even's shoulder to see the rest. "Six O2 and Glucose!"

He grinned triumphantly when Even glared and released him roughly, hissing, "Put that book away before I burn it. Next time you won't have a cheat sheet for you."

A long sigh escaped him as he got off the hook safe and sound. As Even went to wipe the board clean with an eraser, Ienzo obediently shut the large book and set it in front of him to use as a pillow. His bangs flowed over the edge of the binding as he rested his chin on top. "Are we done yet?"

"Yes, yes, get out of here. You're through," Even said briskly, retreating to an experiment in the back of the room. It seemed that he had given up on the lesson.

Ienzo was was out of there before Even could change his mind. Ienzo was nearly running down the hall with glee as he rushed for his room. It was a long hike from the cellar of the castle to one of the towers, but he got there eventually and leaped for his bed, throwing his lab coat onto the floor. The book pages flipped and soon he was enveloped into the descriptive words of his obsession. He read for hours upon hours on end. When he looked to his window he saw the sun beginning to sink behind the horizon line. Getting up he flipped on his lamp to illuminate his darkening room. It was when he was halfway across his ornate rug when he swiveled around with a slight stumble. He nearly forgot about Braig!

Slipping on his shoes, he skidded down the halls, nearly tripping the maids as he ran by. Swerving a corner, he saw Ansem approaching. He didn't stop his pace, though, and glided past his master."Can't have ice-cream! Gotta find Braig!" he blurted as he past the king's dumbfounded face.

Ignoring the shouts of other servants as he scuffed up the "I-just-cleaned" floors with his dirty shoes, he veered to a window with a stool next to it. He drug the stool over and clambered on top, unlocking the window and pushing it ajar. With practiced skill, he slid himself through the opening and shut it from the outside. He now stood on the roof-shingles, the top of one of the many garden sheds being his next goal. Stepping down onto the rickety building, he used the vines on the siding of it to find his way down to solid ground. He landed next to a line of bushes that traced the side of the castle walls. Huffing, little Ienzo looked back at the wall of the shed. Braig was leaning up against it with his arms folded. His expression was peaceful, and his only eye was shut. A soft whistle escaped him, which made the boy smile. Sneaking up next to the guard, he stared deviously at him before poking his side.

"Ahh! I wasn't sleeping!" Braig screeched, "I was, uh, meditating! That's it!" His amber eye looked around, ready to dodge one of Dilan's fists of fury. Seeing only Ienzo next to him, he sighed in relief. "Oh, it's just you, 'Zo. Don't scare me like that!"

"That was the point," Ienzo said blankly.

A frown etched onto the man's face. "Well don't do it anymore. Next thing you know it'll be Dilan or Aeleus finding me here instead of you and they'll rat me out to Ansem." Ienzo responded to that by looking at the ground shyly. Braig huffed and patted his head in comforting, "Now, now, what is it you wanted to talk to me about this time, hm?"

"My birthday," he stated blandly. "Even was asking me what I wanted."Braig nodded, his lips pursed. "Uh-huh, and?"

Ienzo shrugged, pressing himself up against the shed next to Braig. "I told him that I wanted the rest of that psychology book set... But that's not what I really want, to be honest."

"Then what do you want?" Braig asked, his stare this, Ienzo's face became grave and sullen. He bit his lip and looked down. "... Well, I want... I want... I-"

"Spit it out, kid!" the other pleaded, nudging him with a hand encouragingly.

"... Parents. I want my parents."

The amount of tension was so great at that very moment that Ienzo forced himself to stare up at Braig. The veteran was contemplating him sadly with a quirked brow. The corner of his mouth twitched hopefully as he laughed in a hollow way, "W-what are you talking about? You have Even-"

"He's not my real dad," Ienzo barked bitterly. "Where did I come from? Who did I come from? When I ask that, no one ever gives me a straight answer. I want to know. I want to be normal like _them_. I don't want to live here, I want to live out _there_. There: where it's free with no gates and oppressing walls. What is life if I can only see a little piece of the bigger puzzle? Answer me that, Braig."

Braig had no answer. He shut his gaping mouth and looked away.

"I did a test to make sure," Ienzo continued, though he wondered if Braig was even listening to him. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out we look nothing alike. We don't even have the same personality traits. And when the DNA test came out negative, I knew that my guess was right on the mark. That and the lack of a mother bothered me. I see kids outside the castle with two parents. Even never talked about a second adult figure."

A slow sigh made the boy look up to the guard. He had his arms crossed. Braig glanced at him warily before admitting softly and hesitantly, "You're right. Even brought you here from outside the city. We don't know where he got you or how, but all that mattered in the moment was that you were kept healthy and happy. We decided it was not in our place to question your identity. Even didn't seem comfortable talking about it with us. If he's told anyone, it would be the King. And if that's so, you'll never wring anything out of him. Ansem's a tough nut to crack."

Ienzo bit his lip and stared hard at the dirt at his feet. "... Did I come with this name or was I nameless when I got here?"

Braig shrugged. "Even had always called you Ienzo from the start. I assume it's your original name."

The little boy drummed his fingers on the wood boards behind him, his throat caught in a vice-like grip. He found it hard to form words, and when he did they were raspy. "Braig... What if I was stolen? What if someone is out there looking for me at this very moment? I don't want to sit here doing nothing. I want to know where I came from."

"Ienzo, that's silly-"

"You don't understand!" he hissed, silencing the veteran instantly. "This has tormented me for years! I don't get enough sleep now-days. I find it hard to eat sometimes, and... and... Overall my mood has dropped. This place is driving me crazy. I've been cooped up in this prison far too long. I want to get out." _I didn't choose to be here. I didn't choose to live this life. I don't _want_ this life. _His unspoken torments pounded inside his head. If there was a way-any way- that would offer him an escape from this castle, this life of a scientist, he would take it.

Braig was smirking hopelessly when he looked at him again. He shook his head. "You're too young, 'Zo. Maybe you should bring this up to Even. I know little to nothing on the matter and I bet you'll be able to get more facts from him. You don't have to leave the castle to find out where you came from, Ienzo. You just need to get the information from the people around you. Then when you have a decent framework, that will be when you can go out and search the outside world." He was about to protest, but held himself back. There was no use in arguing about it any longer, as Braig would only give him the same answers. He felt slightly better for getting that off his chest, but the revelation about his background with Even disturbed him.

With nothing left to talk about to Braig, he thanked him and said goodbye, using a pile of timber to get back up to the shed's roof and up to the window from which he had escaped from. His ascent back to his room was uneventful, though he passed Aeleus once while the guard was making his final rounds around the halls before going down to bed. His silence and lack of greeting was respected by the man and he bade by Ienzo's want of solitude.

Back in his room, Ienzo had his many piles of books laying about. He wasn't in the mood to read again, so he put away the psychology book and flopped down on his bed with a great sigh. The day had been tiring. If anything he wanted to sleep, but did not do such. He had to figure out how he was going to bring up the subject of his parents to Even. He feared how the scientist would take the inquiry. Would he be mad? Would he keep him from knowing? The scenarios were endless in the child's mind and he dreaded the end of each one.

After a while the scenes stopped playing and he found himself going off thinking about random stuff. Deeming himself too tired to think logically, he drug himself out of his bed and turned off the lights, only to crash back onto the bed again, fully dressed. Tomorrow would either bring chaos or clarity. Ienzo didn't know which one he was looking forward to more.


End file.
